238 research outputs found

    Prospective Improvements for Safer Fuel Tanks: Experimental Tests

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    In past studies, some of the authors presented how the integration of different systems, for the prevention of fires or explosions due to impact or bullet damage, may significantly improve the safety of fuel tanks. Leakage, after bullet penetration or debris impact, can be significantly reduced by introducing polymeric materials with self-healing capabilities for the container’s walls, while an internal aluminium filler can reduce the sloshing and the danger of fuel ignition. In the present paper, an experimental evaluation of the proposed solution is presented. A ballistic test campaign on a fluid container was performed to investigate the interaction between an ethylene–methacrylic acid (EMAA)-based ionomeric wall (i.e. Dupont®Surlyn 8940) and an internal aluminium filler (i.e. Explosafe®). Results show that the presence of the fluid increases the self-healing capabilities, which are however slightly affected by the internal aluminium filler; the contribution in terms of sloshing reduction remains relevant. Moreover, additional configurations based on multilayer panels are presented. The authors studied the healing process of EMAA in a sandwich configuration made of one skin of ionomer and one skin of carbon fibre, sepa- rated by an aramidic honeycomb. The main objective of the honeycomb is to prevent the remarkable reduction of the healing capabilities observed when ionomer is directly coupled to aramidic fabric or composite panels. The new multilayer configurations have been tested at different impact conditions

    Monitoring the Microseismicity through a Dense Seismic Array and a Similarity Search Detection Technique: Application to the Seismic Monitoring of Collalto Gas-Storage, North Italy

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    Seismic monitoring in areas where induced earthquakes could occur is a challenging topic for seismologists due to the generally very low signal to noise ratio. Therefore, the seismological community is devoting several efforts to the development of high-quality networks around the areas where fluid injection and storage and geothermal activities take place, also following the national induced seismicity monitoring guidelines. The use of advanced data mining strategies, such as template matching filters, auto-similarity search, and deep-learning approaches, has recently further fostered such monitoring, enhancing the seismic catalogs and lowering the magnitude of completeness of these areas. In this framework, we carried out an experiment where a small-aperture seismic array was installed within the dense seismic network used for monitoring the gas reservoir of Collalto, in North Italy. The continuous velocimetric data, acquired for 25 days, were analysed through the application of the optimized auto-similarity search technique FAST. The array was conceived as a cost-effective network, aimed at integrating, right above the gas storage site, the permanent high-resolution Collalto Seismic Network. The analysis allowed to detect micro-events down to magnitude Ml = −0.4 within a distance of ~15 km from the array. Our results confirmed that the system based on the array installation and the FAST data analysis might contribute to lowering the magnitude of completeness around the site of about 0.7 units

    Comparison of tolerability and adverse symptoms in oxcarbazepine and carbamazepine in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and neuralgiform headaches using the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (AEP)

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    Background Adverse effects of drugs are poorly reported in the literature . The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of the adverse events of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), in particular carbamazepine (CBZ) and oxcarbazepine (OXC) in patients with neuralgiform pain using the psychometrically tested Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (AEP) and provide clinicians with guidance as to when to change management. Methods The study was conducted as a clinical prospective observational exploratory survey of 161 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia and its variants of whom 79 were on montherapy who attended a specialist clinic in a London teaching hospital over a period of 2 years. At each consultation they completed the AEP questionnaire which provides scores of 19–76 with toxic levels being considered as scores >45. Results The most common significant side effects were: tiredness 31.3 %, sleepiness 18.2 %, memory problems 22.7 %, disturbed sleep 14.1 %, difficulty concentrating and unsteadiness 11.6 %. Females reported significantly more side effects than males. Potential toxic dose for females is approximately 1200 mg of OXC and 800 mg of CBZ and1800mg of OXC and 1200 mg of CBZ for males. Conclusions CBZ and OXC are associated with cognitive impairment. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic differences are likely to be the reason for gender differences in reporting side effects. Potentially, females need to be prescribed lower dosages in view of their tendency to reach toxic levels at lower dosages. Side effects associated with AED could be a major reason for changing drugs or to consider a referral for surgical management
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